don

Here are some topics covered in exchanges between Don and me in the last few months: family dynamics, religious iconography and signage, fear of abandonment, guilt, anarchist poetry, radical librarians, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Mitchum, the formation of political beliefs, (my) continual shock at the political ignorance on a university campus (his response included lyrics from Elvis Costello), political unrest in Egypt, witchcraft, government-sanctioned torture, the general misinterpretation of sarcasm, being one’s own worst enemy, Laurel & Hardy . . . and these are only the few I can follow in e-mail or bring to mind right now. As others have observed here, I could count on Don to have some opinion, or at least some curiosity, about anything I sent his way. I could count on Don to write back, usually with some seemingly off-the-cuff but in fact insightful observation about whatever was the topic of the hour, no matter what else was going on with him. As is made clear by this blog, by the tremendous number of people who have contacted Susan in the past week, by my finally discovering just what the hell he was doing all the time, many, many people counted on him to pay attention to us. His vigorous expressions of dismay at the absurdity of the world were delightful to me. Now I’m forming a deeper appreciation for his willingness to pay attention--to us and to the world.
As I struggled to find a way to honor him and express my gratitude for knowing him for a short time, I came across these words from André Breton: “There is no solution outside love.” Thanks, Don, for loving us. We love you, too.
Jett (Heather J.)